Tuesday, January 31, 2006

SPIKE TV'S BLADE GOES TO SERIES

Spike TV has given the green-light for a television series based on Marvel's Blade, the network's first original scripted series.

"I'm very happy that Spike picked up the show," executive producer David Goyer told The Continuum Tuesday afternoon. "From the first moment we met with Doug Herzog, we knew that it would be a perfect match.

"I'm also excited because we're going to be able to produce a show that is much edgier than anything you might find on network TV. Expect lots and lots of mayhem!"

The network has ordered 11 one-hour episodes, in addition to the previously announced two-hour kick-off episode, to be produced by New Line Television and set to commence production in Vancouver this spring.

Blade premieres in June.

Goyer, who wrote all three Blade films and directed Blade: Trinity, is joined on the series by Geoff Johns, with whom he co-wrote the television pilot movie, which was shot last month in Vancouver. The pilot was directed by Peter O'Fallon.

Here's how Spike TV describes the series:

"Blade focuses on Marvel's eponymous immortal warrior fighting a shadowy underworld of vampires who want to destroy the human race. The title character is a half-man, half-vampire who uses his superhuman powers and skills to fearlessly battle the demonic creatures of the night in a blood-drenched crusade to prevent the ascendance of vampires over mankind."

The TV series will maintain continuity from the movie trilogy but will bring Blade into a new storyline with new characters.

Kirk "Sticky" Jones stars as Blade. Jones first became widely known as "Sticky Fingaz," the front man for the hip-hop group Onyx. He later appeared and starred in a number of feature films including Clockers, Dead Presidents and Flight of the Phoenix. Most recently, Jones appeared regularly on FX's Over There and The Shield.

Rounding out the series cast are Jill Wagner, Neil Jackson, Nelson Lee and Jessica Gower.

"We're extremely pleased with the pilot for Blade, which delivers a thrilling action-adventure for its built-in fan base as well as a character-driven drama filled with heart-pounding tension and suspense," said Pancho Mansfield, Executive Vice President, Original Programming at Spike TV. "The series will be the first of our scripted fare as we embark on creating a greater mix of original programming for our viewers."

Bill McGoldrick, Vice President, Original Programming and Lisa Ullmann, Director of Original Programming, are executives responsible for production at Spike TV. Avi Arad, Chairman and CEO of Marvel Studios, Ari Arad, Executive Vice President, Marvel Studios, Jim Rosenthal and Jon Kroll of New Line Television will serve as executive producers.

THE BATMAN IN FEBRUARY

Kids' WB! has provided The Continuum with its Saturday morning schedules for all of February, and they feature three new episodes of The Batman.

New episodes include "Cash for Toys" on Saturday, "Thunder" on Feb. 11 and "The Apprentice" on Feb. 18.

Here's how Kids' WB! describes Saturday's episode:

"Toymaker Cosmo Krank seeks revenge against Bruce Wayne after the billionaire successfully leads a campaign to remove his unsafe toys from store shelves. Despite Bruce¹s objections, he is put under the protection of the overly macho Detective Cash Tankenson. Bruce must figure out a way to give the overzealous detective the slip and become The Batman in order to stop Krank and his deadly toys."

Steve Melching wrote "Cash for Toys." He also wrote "JTV," the episode that introduced Cash Tankenson to the show. The character is voiced by Patrick Warburton, who starred in Fox's live-action The Tick.

"Meeting Patrick Warburton was one of the year's highlights for me," Melching told The Continuum.

Patton Oswalt, of King of Queens and Blade: Trinity, plays Cosmo Krank, the Toymaker.

Melching also wrote "The Apprentice."

"'The Apprentice' is a Joker story, but despite what the title might imply -- and the swirling rumors -- it does not feature Harley Quinn," Melching said. "I don't want to say anything more about that one at this point..."

"Night and the City" will be rebroadcast on Feb. 25 to round out the February episodes.

For the network's complete schedule for the month, CLICK HERE, and look for more on The Batman soon here in The Continuum.

BATMAN BEGINS NOMINATED FOR ACADEMY AWARD

Batman Begins has been nominated for an Academy Award for Cinematography.

Nominations were announced Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. The awards ceremonies will be televised by ABC on Sunday, March 5 at 8 p.m. (ET).

Batman Begins' competition in the Cinematography category includes Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck,
Memoirs of a Geisha and The New World.

Wally Pfister was the cinematographer for director Christopher Nolan.

Batman Begins was also in the running for Visual Effects, but didn't make the final field of three -- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong and War of the Worlds.

A History of Violence is up for two awards -- William Hurt for Best Supporting Actor and Josh Olson for Best Adapted Screenplay.

DC COMICS TRADE PAPERBACKS FOR JUNE

REX MUNDI GETS SELLOUT, RAMOS COVER

Image Comics' Rex Mundi #16, which features the addition of Juan Ferreyra on art, has sold out, according to the publisher.

"Well this certainly is a wonderful surprise! When I started doing the art on Rex Mundi, I was more than happy to be working on a wonderful story by Arvid (Nelson, writer/creator) and giving new life to the characters he created, so selling out in less than a week just gives me a lot of
energy to keep drawing this book," said Ferreyra. "Doing the art for
Rex Mundi is so refreshing, is a beautiful book and I can do stuff
that might not work in other books."

"Having Juan on board is a dream come true," Nelson said. "There couldn't be a better time for readers to get on board, too; Rex Mundi has never looked so good, and the story's about to undergo a
major shift."

Rex Mundi is a quest for the Holy Grail told as a murder mystery. It's set in an alternate-history Paris where magic is real and the Catholic Church never lost its grip on power. Doctor Julien Sauniere investigates the theft of a medieval scroll from a Paris church. He
stumbles onto a series of horrific ritual murders and an ancient
secret society somehow connected to the mysterious scroll.

"We're just about halfway through, and things will be different from
here on out. The story will maintain the same brooding intensity, but
it's going to be more fast-paced, more kinetic," Nelson said.

Rex Mundi #17 ships in March, and following that, the May-shipping Rex Mundi #18 features a cover by Humberto Ramos.

"Humberto's cover is absolutely beautiful! I mean, it's a work of art," Nelson said. "I've been a fan of his for a
long time, his artwork is refreshing and simple, but it's got a
subtle character to it."

SUPERMAN'S "THIS IS YOUR LIFE"

DC Comics on Tuesday announced the art teams to the three-part story "This Is Your Life," which will run through Superman #226, Action Comics #836 and Adventures of Superman #649 in February.

The pivotal tale, written by Joe Kelly, ties in to Infinite Crisis.

Here's a rundown of the artists:

* Superman #226 features artwork by Ed Benes, Mariah Benes, Jerry Ordway, Howard Chaykin and Renato Guedes, plus a cover by Ed McGuinness. It is scheduled to arrive in stores on Feb. 8.

As a bonus, Superman #226 also includes a special five-page scrapbook by the Superman For All Seasons team of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.

NEW SIMPSONS EPISODE

Fox has scheduled a new episode of The Simpsons, "My Fair Laddy," for Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. (ET).

Here's how Fox describes the episode:

"When Bart accidentally destroys Groundskeeper Willie's shack with a game of solid ice dodge ball, Marge takes in the homeless janitor. Lisa decides to offer Willie a better life by refining him for her upcoming science fair, and after an arduous regimen, she turns the curmudgeon into the talk of the town.

"Meanwhile, Homer fears changing trouser styles when he discovers the factory that makes his classic blue pants is going out of business."

"My Fair Laddy" is the lone new episode of The Simpsons during February sweeps.

BRIEFLY

* MGA Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment have announced a license under which Marvel has granted MGA Entertainment rights to its super-hero universe. The agreement covers the classic comic book look of the characters; upcoming Marvel-inspired films, including Ghost Rider and Spider-Man 3; and Marvel's pre-school property, Spider-Man & Friends.

Through the agreement, MGA will develop a range of Marvel Super Hero products, including personality- and movie-based die-cast cars and remote control vehicles. Initial products in the RC category will begin hitting retail immediately.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

* Dynamite Entertainment announced an agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to produce comics based on the classic Battlestar Galactica series. Recently Dynamite Entertainment signed a deal to launch a comic series based on the new SCI FI Channel Battlestar Galactica series. The comic series based on the new season of Battlestar Galactica is tentatively scheduled to launch second quarter 2006, with Greg Pak writing the ongoing series.

* Producers Mark Canton, chairman and chief executive officer of Atmosphere Entertainment MM, and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, chairman of Platinum Studios, announced that they will develop Platinum's graphic novel Killing Demons as a feature film. A screenwriter will be announced.

* DC Comics' ongoing Green Lantern Corps title will launch in May.

* Coming Wednesday: Marvel news -- and much more!!!

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links. Click on the date to get the day's full report.